VHS tape owners, have you backed up your stuff to DVD?

[Deja Q]

I just started this myself, now that blank disc prices are reasonable.

It's a slow process to apply the cleanup filters, but there is a program that does a spectacular job at removing the aging multicolor noise (often seen in skintines and purer red sources) while leaving the image intact.

Working with Premiere and other pro applications is great fun too.

And cleaning up the sound too. I HATE hiss with a passion.

Pity there's no market for it. :-(

[liberal N proud]

1. Looking into it...

I plan on purchasing on of the new DVD recorders or new PC with the software to do it in the next several months.

[Deja Q]

3. Some tips:

Get a PC with 1GB of RAM and the fastest processor available,

You will also want a LOT of hard drive space. A hour of Pinnacle-encoded AVI for one episode is 15GB. For real. My capture machine has 200GB, the data of which gets transferred to the processing machine (that has 200GB). That allows me to capture, move the data, work on the data while capturing more.

Keep the PC dedicated to video work and nothing else, if possible. Spyware, many installed programs, too mcuh disk space being used will eat into the net performance. Also tweak the OS to disable unneeded processes; my XP capture machine uses 90MB on its own.

Pinnacle products are the ONLY products I know of that avoid macrovision detection. ATi will detect it, so if you're planning on backing up store-bought, then ATi is not the way you want to go. Be sure to get an internal model (PCI) and avoid the external USB crap, which yeilds lower quality. Oh, not all capture devices are the same. Nvidia's integrated capture feature in some of the cards using it are of worthless quality. There is another brand called Canopus, as I recall. However that brand is geared toward professionals and costs a lot of money. I deemed it as overkill, but you'll hear the name often. But my old Pinnacle DV500+ setup does a great job (though superceded with newer products; whose hardware is comparable.)

TMpegEng (especially the Pro version) can remove all sorts of problems with minimal impact on video quality. http://www.tmpgenc.net/e_main.html for the free version. http://www.pegasys-inc.com/en/ has the pay-for version (which offers the most video-cleanup features. Particularly a ghost reduction filter that does work to a certain extent.) This product is THE best at removing video noise while retaining quality and even gets rid of the artifacting seen in aged videos or even in the red area of the spectrum, where VHS just can't hold the color.

If you're into cleaning the sound, be sure to get a product that works at 48000KHz (the frequency DVD uses).

There are many menu creators as well. Give the bundled Pinnacle product a try, but there are others.

Also consider a (HIGHER END ONLY!) Mac if you want to eliminate SOME of the hassle (but none of the need to learn, optimize, and tweak) and, but in turn you'll be paying a LOT more for both hardware AND software tools. I've had no problems creating discs,

[FloridaPat]

6. What's the easiest and best way to do all this??

[Deja Q]

7. Easiest does not mean best. Never has been in a historical sense.

If you want easy, a $2000 Mac would work out fine and give you good performance. (net PC cost would be under $1000, rather less if you home-built it.) But in terms of "easy", Mac's got the market. No need to think, they've already done it for you. Just plug it in, digitize, record. As far as I've read from a friend who uses a Mac for his work. I don't know of what cleanup software exists, but I know it DOES exist. Nor do I know the prices, however.

[liberal N proud]

23. Thanks for the info!

[frictionlessO]

2. not yet, but anticipate within a year I will be...

dont know if Im gonna go through filtering processes or not though.

[Deja Q]

4. Filtering/enhancing is not a requirement, but it does work...

I'd taped episodes of the 1995 "Get Smart" remake off air; the filters do a smash job at removing the 1st gen noise artifacting and improves the evenness of the color. Even the de-ghosting filter helps, though it doesn't work as well on severely ghosted material. :-(

But for storebought tapes, the need isn't as great. Usually.

[BiggJawn]

5. No. Not worried about machine availability, either.

I can fix them. I have the Technology. I have the Knowledge.

But, I won't be buying any NEW releases on VHS.

[Deja Q]

8. Neither will I. Except for Doctor Who, where any DVD release will

take years, if ever. :D

[Bridget Burke]

9. There's quite a bit of Dr Who available on DVD.

www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/1JIFEEN9F9HX5/ref=cm_bg_guides/103-2055066-5655844

[noshenanigans]

10. What few VHS I have, yes

It's a grand thing, because with some things I have, I'm actually scared of losing- like, the emmy consideration tape of "That's My Bush", and copies of The State and MST3K that haven't come out on DVD yet.

I tell ya, it was totally worth it to spring for the DVD burner in my laptop. Especially because I can pull stuff off my Tivo and be the cool girl that has every episode of "Snoop Fizzle Televizzle" in digital form.

[Maestro]

11. The question is

how the heck to I transfer super 8 film to dvd. I have the hardware but not the know-how. Any help HypnoToad? You could pm me if you like.

[johnnie]

13. I have been looking in to doing that

I just need a projector. There are machines on the market that will help you do that, but they can be pretty expensive. Years ago I transfer 8mm film to VHS. All I did was set my camera up on a tripod and filmed it off of the screen. I have heard of people doing it that way.

[hunter]

16. The full service camera store in my town does film transfers...

...much better than I can at home. There are also mail-order/internet places that do it.

It takes expensive equipment to do it right; you can't get good results by simply pointing a video camera at a movie screen because the video camera won't capture each entire frame of film.

Professional transfer machines scan each and every frame and store it as a digital image. These images are then assembled into standard video or computer files. Ideally each frame should be stored in a progessive scan "AVI" format with minimal compression for digital playback at the original frame rate.

Converting 8mm film to standard video frame rates is not a straightforward task and creates certain motion "artifacts" and losses of quality. If you are going to spend the money on a transfer it is worth getting the native frame rate AVI files along with your standard video. In the future these AVI files will be more useful and adaptable than any straight to DVD format conversion.

[48pan]

12. I'm Waiting Until the DVD+- Recorders ...

with built-in hard drives are under $300. There is no reason to pay the big bucks. For now, I have the TIVO box, but when the generic boxes are cheap, I'll ditch TIVO.

I hook my TIVO box to my computer and put the box on the Blues Channel. Then I can rip the digital music and put it on my IPod.

[Maestro]

19. Unless I am misunderstanding something

there are tons of DVD burners for under that price. link:www.newegg.com/app/manufact.asp?catalog=5&DEPA=1|DVD burners]

[48pan]

20. Not just the burner!

I want a combination DVD burner and hard drive. You record to the hard drive, just like a TIVO (without the monthly charge). You burn DVDs from the hard drive. That way, you don't have to buy expensive DVD/RW and you only use a DVD/R when you really want to save something.

They are currently available for about $500 (and up). By next year at this time, they will be available everywhere for a reasonable price.

[Maestro]

24. Oh, I see

Understood.

[johnnie]

14. What program are you using for cleanup?

I have a bunch of different programs to work with the video in the computer, and I am still playing with them.
I don't have the cash for Premiere, but I would like to get it. I also have the VHS to DVD recorder which is ok for simple tape transfers. I have some people who want me to do that for them so I am making it part of my recording studio work.

[mcscajun]

15. No, but I had a friend transfer a couple of critical tapes to DVD for me.

But they were rarities I don't expect to be able to buy in DVD anytime in the future...and important things I'd taped off the cable signal.

[laheina]

17. I have invested in most of the hardware that I'll need.

Haven't purchased the software or started learning the process yet. This would have been a great project for my Christmas vacation time, but I prolly won't even get to the other dozen projects that I planned on. It's a vacation damn-it!

Thanks for all of the great tips and info. They'll help me out a lot.

[Feron]

18. Nope

But that is on my 2005 to do list. It's too bad i like obscure things that will probably never see the light of day as a proper DVD.

[catzies]

21. I did that with my audio cassettes to CDs a few years ago

Can't WAIT to do it with my VHS tapes. 2005 baby!

[cheezus]

22. yep, that's what the families are getting for xmas this year

homemade presents rule!

we've gone back and found old holiday home movies on VHS and made DVDs out of clips. I'm sure I'll get around to making copies of everything one day.

not doing any restoration tho, no time for that